The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has suspended its National President, Bala Audu, over alleged violations of the association’s constitution, following an Emergency Delegates Meeting (EDM) held in Abuja on Wednesday.
The meeting, attended by 63 delegates drawn from 23 state branches and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), also approved the establishment of a caretaker committee to oversee the affairs of the association pending elections scheduled for the Annual General Meeting in Kano between April 27 and May 3.
The development has triggered a leadership dispute, with the Audu-led National Officers Committee (NOC) rejecting the decision and describing it as unconstitutional and procedurally flawed.
The crisis stems from the disqualification of six candidates from contesting in the forthcoming national elections.
The NOC had cited incomplete documentation as the basis for the disqualification, a justification some delegates at the EDM rejected, arguing that it was inconsistent with established electoral practices within the association.
However, delegates subsequently voted to reverse the decision and cleared the affected candidates to participate in the elections.
In response, the NMA leadership dismissed the EDM and its resolutions, insisting that due process was not followed in convening the meeting or in the suspension of the president.
The Secretary-General of the association, Dr. Ben Egbo, said the matter would be reviewed in line with the constitution and appropriate disciplinary measures applied. Egbo confirmed that the Annual Delegates Meeting would proceed as scheduled next week, along with the elections.
He also stated that the disqualification of one presidential candidate had been reviewed and upheld, adding that there would be no reversal of that decision.
The leadership maintained that the disputed suspension and caretaker arrangement cannot stand, insisting that only constitutionally recognised procedures are valid within the association.